The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly put a dent in our daily routines. If you are someone who enjoys fitting in a workout at a gym, these last few months have probably been rough. Most people who are used to going to the gym have had to find alternatives to getting in a workout while at home. Of course, working out at home isn’t the same. For one, most of us probably don’t have all the fancy equipment that the gyms would normally do. However, one gym owner, decided that he was going to do something kind.
Owner of the Be Strong gym in Bloomington, Indiana, Drew Whitted, decided to allow his gym members to borrow and take home more than $40,000 worth of gym equipment during the lockdown – all for free!
According to CNN, Drew said to his members, “We don’t want anything left in here. If our members can’t come in and train, we want you to take it home and keep training.”
Around 80 of his members accepted the offer and signed up to check out workout gear, such as barbells, weights, exercise bikes, rowers, and mats.
“I really encourage members to take things home that they loved, and they knew they were going to use every day,” Drew explained.
He further added that he wanted to help people keep up on their exercise routines. And he was happy that the offer ended up bringing people within homes together.
He further shared with CNN, “Now I see a whole family, getting through this shelter in place, getting through this tough time doing these workouts together, bonding together, becoming healthier and happier together as a family unit.”
However, while he was helping his community stay fit, Drew did keep enough gym equipment for himself so he could continue hosting daily virtual training sessions.
Many members were very happy with Drew’s kind offer, as well as his virtual workouts. Before the shutdown, Paulette Cocco used to work out at Be Strong three or four times a week. Cocco has stated that the virtual training sessions have not only kept her motivated, but they’ve also helped her stay connected to the community.
She said, “So you see people posting their pictures and their workouts and makes you feel … pressured, almost like ‘I gotta get my workout in because, you know, Judy got her workout in, I need to too.’”
Many members, Cocco included, have insisted on continuing to pay their monthly membership fees despite the month of free membership that Drew offered them to make up for the time spent in quarantine.
Additionally, the gym owner has continued to pay his entire staff of 9 throughout the duration of the lockdown. And he’s not worried about getting all his equipment back, saying he knows as his items will eventually make it back to the gym once the lockdown restrictions are lifted. He is excited to have his community back and working out again.